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spacex

Your ego is a depreciating asset

“If it drives, flies, floats or fucks – lease it.” – Spencer Strasmore (Ballers)

At first, I giggled, and then found it crude. But also true to some sense. This is something that’s thrown around a lot by wealthy divorced men, I am neither rich nor divorced. But I do understand why those people have said about leasing assets like cars, planes, and boats. It’s solid investment advice. If I think about investing I find there are only two types to myself, financial and moral.

For those who want a financial investment, they will put money into to profit when getting money out.

If life has taught me anything, its that two things are certain. Life itself is followed eventually by death. As morbid as it sounds if I was going to make any investment for financial gain I’d look at education and health care. People must be educated and developed, and we continue to populate the planet. But we also die and have a heavy fixation with staying alive as long as possible.

I remember sitting at a cafe having my lunch and overhearing a conversation about a financial adviser and someone else selling life insurance “just in case something happens”. I can tell you this, death will happen. It’s unavoidable.

A lot of businesses in the health and education sector base their model around government grants and funding, which can be bad given it can be pulled out from under their feet at any time. This can lead to job cuts and businesses closing. There’s government funding into privatised schools and all the early learning centres that seem to pop up on every corner lately. While they a private business, they still receive government funding and base a lot of what they do off receiving that.

If you take a look at someone like Elon Musk, he continues to fund a lot of his own projects with his own money. So only he ends up out of pocket if something falls on its arse. That’s entrepreneur 101, risking your own money for financial gain or losing it. Being an entrepreneur doesn’t mean adding it to your Instagram bio and telling all your mates you have a great idea. You might have a great idea, but you’re more likely binge watching shows on Netflix, on your parents’ couch in track pants, covered in Dorito crumbs and wondering how you’ll pay off that Arts degree.

Elon Musk started PayPal, which he sold. Now he tips his own money into his own investments like Space X (Privatised space exploration), The Boring Company (looking to reduce gridlock by going up and down in high traffic areas… Bladerunner anyone?), and Telsa. Which produce Electric motor vehicles and batteries for home, which are all pushing against the grain of the government. Could you imagine living in a world with houses off the grid with batteries and solar panels? or electric cars with no emissions being able to go under and over large freeways without roads? (flying cars!). So next time you think about calling yourself an entrepreneur, maybe think again?

I like to invest my time in people, while it can end in disappointment. I like to see people in small business reach their goals or do something that makes them happy, and enjoy their time while they work. I have no interest in people who don’t want to help others or just make money to show it off. It’s all about inflating their ego so they can feel bigger and better than other people.